Summary:Adapted from Margareta Osborn's bestselling ebook novella A Bush Christmas, Rose River is a gloriously funny romantic comedy set in the beautiful Australian outback.

Take one city girl - and drop her into the back of beyond ...

Housesitting in rural Burdekin's Gap, high up in the East Gippsland mountains, is not an obvious career move for a PR executive like Jaime Hanrahan. But, hey, retrenchment is a kicker.

Plus she's determined not to spend Christmas in Melbourne with her friends, who still have company cars and six-figure salaries, or with her mother, Blanche, who has remarried too soon after her father's death.

However, it turns out that Burdekin's Gap is a little more remote than Jaime had anticipated, the house is in the middle of a cattle station, and the handsome manager, Stirling McEvoy, doesn't appreciate a new farmhand in Jimmy Choos and Sass & Bide cut-offs.

Soon Jaime is fending off stampeding cows, town ladies wielding clipboards, sheep who think they are goats, nude sportsmen and one very neurotic cat. So why does she feel like she's falling in love . . . with the life, with the breathtaking landscape, and with one infuriating cowboy …?

I have heard a lot of fabulous things about this wonderful Aussie author, Margaret Osborn and was excited to read Rose River. I lived in Melbourne for a few years and Rose River was set not far from there. Ms Osborn has such an extraordinary writing style that I was addicted from the get go. The characters were fun and the overall story was so entertaining that everybody needs to read this book.

Jaime Hanrahan is twenty-six and currently unemployed. She was retrenched as a marketing executive and with Christmas approaching, she is looking for somewhere to escape the festive season. Her manicurist mentioned something about house-sitting in the country while the owner travelled.

There are three things Jaime can’t stand: 1. her name 2. public transport, and 3. muscle bound men riding Harley Davidsons.

With no six figure salary, no South Bank flat, no car, no iPad, no iPhone, Jaime was without technology and without independence.

Travelling to Polly’s Plains House, Jaime is in a bit of a pickle. Her bus doesn’t go up the mountain and unless she wants to wait until Wednesday for the next truck, Jaime has to get behind the muscle bound man on his motorbike. She calls him Marbleman for his icy exterior.

Marbleman gave her two minutes to pack some things to fit on the bike while the rest of her belongings would be delivered Wednesday. It appears Marbleman has a history with posh city chics and he seems to be taking his intolerance out on her.

Once inside the mansion in the country, Jaime was greeted with a note from the stockman, who obviously thought Jaime was a bloke. He was expecting Jaime to help with the cattle the next morning bright and early.

Well the next morning she wanted to prove her worth and went to the cattle yards to help, but what she found was Marbleman. Stirling McEvoy was just as shocked as she was. With determination and stubbornness, Jaime quickly learned to get up close and personal with the Steers.

When her belongings arrived at the General Store, Jaime heads off to collect them. The owner of the store, Ryan, asks Jaime on a date, but with a shadow coming over her and a deep voice speaking before she could respond, she found Marbleman dressed in all his leather glory. She was stunned by how exquisite he looked, frozen in place Jaime was busted for ogling, she came up with some excuse for checking him out. Making up a story about his boots, she wiggles her pretty sparkly toes at the men and they freeze mesmerised by her legs and sparkles. Marbleman tells Ryan that she has to help him with the rabbits, since she is supposed to be his hired help, so no date.

Jaime was falling in love with the countryside, Polly’s Plains was breathtaking. She was finding herself drawn to Marbleman, they have electricity that cannot be denied. He calls her Princess, which she hates and Jaime gets pressured into the Christmas festivities for the community.

Laugh along with Jaime as she fuddles her way through her weeks of housesitting a mansion in the country, falling in love with the community as well as the countryside and her interactions with Marbleman. See what antics come about when Stirling’s past catches up with him and a stepbrother who thinks Jaime belongs to him. Rose River was such a laugh out loud read, but had intense emotion from Jaime that I was crying with heartache too. This is definitely a must read for all romance readers after humour and fun.

About the Author

Margareta Osborn is a fifth-generation farmer who has lived and worked on the land all her life. She also writes about it in the Gippsland Country Life magazine. Home is the beautiful Macalister Valley of East Gippsland where, with her husband and three children, she spends many hours in the mountains in which her novels are set.